The Answers to All Your Questions about the UOC (and the UOJ)
1. Why won’t the Union of Orthodox Journalists condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
We have—and we do.
The UOJ’s first bureau in Ukraine was founded by patriotic Ukrainians who belong to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They support Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.
Nevertheless, they oppose the Zelenskyy government’s attempts to suppress the UOC, which are motivated by a (demonstrably false) belief that the UOC is “pro-Russian.”
In any event, the UOJ—both in Ukraine and the United States—is 100% supportive of the Ukrainians’ struggle to defend themselves against Russian aggression.
2. Why won’t the Ukrainian Orthodox Church condemn the Russian invasion?
It has. More than that, the UOC’s leadership has not only condemned the Russian invasion: it has urged its faithful to fight to defend Ukraine. In a 2023 speech, for instance, UOC primate Met. Onuphry denounced the “treacherous invasion of Russian troops,” saying: “The protection of one’s Motherland is the sacred duty of every citizen, and therefore every believer of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
3. Why does the UOC commemorate the Patriarch of Moscow?
It doesn’t. The UOC stopped commemorating Kirill in May 2022, as a response to the invasion.
It’s worth noting that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine—the schismatic body supported by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Ukrainian government—also commemorated Kirill until May of 2022, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew himself still commemorates Kirill.
This has nothing to do with any love for Russia or the Russian state. It is simply a reflection of the ancient bond between the Orthodox churches of Ukraine and Russia.
4. Why do some UOC bishops and priests support the Russian invasion?
According to polls, about 75% of Eastern Ukrainians are Orthodox. Meanwhile, somewhere between 30-50% of them are “pro-Russian.”
So, yes: some members of the UOC in Eastern Ukraine would be pro-Russian. But there are pro-Russian members of many different religions in Eastern Ukraine.
The entire UOC should not be blamed for the actions of a small minority—especially when the UOC’s leadership is so outspoken in its support for the Ukrainian cause.
5. Why doesn’t the Union of Orthodox Journalists report on Russia’s crimes?
We do.
In March, we reported that a Russian shell destroyed a UOC parish in Hryshyne, killing two altar boys.
In October, we reported that the Russians hit a UOC parish in Kostiantynivka, killing a priest’s wife.
In November, we reported that a parish in Aleksandro-Kalynove was destroyed by a Russian shell, killing the pastor and his wife.
Those are just three examples. We are not afraid to criticize Russia because we do not support the Kremlin—nor does the Kremlin support us.
6. Why don’t you report on Russia’s crimes against non-religious targets?
We’re a religious news service. That’s why we focus on the religious “angle” in our reporting. There are lots of other journalists covering the daily tragedies of the War in Ukraine, and we thank God for them. That’s not our “beat,” though. It’s like asking why the Wall Street Journal didn't report on the appointment of the OCA’s new Bishop of San Francisco. Different outlets have different interests/priorities.
7. If you support Ukraine’s right to self-defense, why do you spend so much time criticizing its treatment of the UOC?
The idea that patriotic citizens can’t criticize their government in wartime is an illiberal, totalitarian instinct. It is unworthy of the American and Ukrainian people.
As of December 2025, the United States has spent nearly $200 billion in support of Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression. All we ask is that Washington place a simple condition on these funds: that the Zelenskyy government respect the freedom of UOC bishops, priests, and laymen to practice their faith peacefully.
To be absolutely clear: we are not saying that the United States should support Russia. We’re not even saying that the United States should reduce its funding to Ukraine. We’re only asking the U.S. government to ensure that U.S. tax dollars are not being used to violate the religious liberties of patriotic Ukrainians.
8. Why won’t you disclose your funding if you’re not taking money from the Kremlin?
No organization, whether nonprofit or for-profit, releases complete lists of their donors/customers. That would be a serious violation of privacy.
However, we can say this: the UOJ has successfully defended itself against libelous accusations of having “Russian ties” in Greece and Cyprus.
So, there is ample public evidence that the UOJ does not receive money from Russia and no evidence that we do. Because we don’t.
9. If this is all true, why are you the only ones talking about it?
We’re not. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and World Council of Churches (among others) have all issued a warning about the Ukrainian government’s violation of it citizens’ religious liberties. We’re definitely not the only ones concerned about Ukraine’s treatment of the UOC.
10. Why do people lie about the UOC and the UOJ?
We’ll tell you—but you may not like it.
Since the Cold War, the Russian Orthodox Church has been viewed—rightly or wrongly—as an arm of the Russian government. Since that time, Western powers have sought to curtail the ROC’s influence abroad.
Unfortunately, the Western leaders who set these policies often don’t understand Orthodox ecclesiology. For instance, they often act as though all local Churches of the Slavonic patrimony are somehow subservient to Moscow. This includes the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In 2018, Petro Poroshenko (then president of Ukraine) traveled to Istanbul. While there, he met with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I. Poroshenko and Bartholomew signed an agreement, wherein the Ukrainian government promised to “facilitate” the "unification" of Ukrainian Orthodoxy under a new, “independent” church.
Reportedly, the U.S. government paid the Ecumenical Patriarch a handsome sum in order to ensure his cooperation.
Then, in 2019, Bartholomew convened a “unification council,” which created the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government immediately began seizing UOC parishes and giving them to the newly formed OCU.
Read that again. The Ukrainian government immediately began seizing UOC parishes and giving them to the OCU. This was in 2019.
So, these church seizures are not—as Zelenskyy and his apologists claim—an emergency wartime measure. Ukraine began persecuting the UOC long before Russia invaded. It has simply grown more aggressive since then.
This is why the Society of St. John organized its pan-Orthodox summit on Capitol Hill earlier this week. This is the message they were conveying to U.S. lawmakers. They were not lobbying on behalf of the Russian government or the Russian Church. They were not trying to prevent further support for Ukraine—moral, financial, or military. They were only asking that the American government intervene with its allies in Kyiv on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
They want Kyiv to stop seizing UOC parishes, arresting UOC bishops, and conscripting UOC priests. That’s all.
Now, ask yourself: does that sound like diabolical, Kremlin-funded propaganda? Or does it sound like a reasonable critique of irresponsible spending and governmental overreach?
Ben Dixon | Editor-in-Chief
Michael W. Davis | General Editor
Aaron Hickman | News Editor
